Cite as: 512 U. S. 622 (1994)
Opinion of the Court
based on content. Arkansas Writers' Project, 481 U. S., at 231-232; Carey v. Brown, 447 U. S. 455, 464-469 (1980).
As a general rule, laws that by their terms distinguish favored speech from disfavored speech on the basis of the ideas or views expressed are content based. See, e. g., Burson v. Freeman, 504 U. S. 191, 197 (1992) ("Whether individuals may exercise their free-speech rights near polling places depends entirely on whether their speech is related to a political campaign"); Boos v. Barry, 485 U. S. 312, 318-319 (1988) (plurality opinion) (whether municipal ordinance permits individuals to "picket in front of a foreign embassy depends entirely upon whether their picket signs are critical of the foreign government or not"). By contrast, laws that confer benefits or impose burdens on speech without reference to the ideas or views expressed are in most instances content neutral. See, e. g., Members of City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent, 466 U. S. 789, 804 (1984) (ordinance prohibiting the posting of signs on public property "is neutral—indeed it is silent—concerning any speaker's point of view"); Heffron v. International Soc. for Krishna Consciousness, Inc., 452 U. S. 640, 649 (1981) (State Fair regulation requiring that sales and solicitations take place at designated locations "applies evenhandedly to all who wish to distribute and sell written materials or to solicit funds").
C
Insofar as they pertain to the carriage of full-power broadcasters, the must-carry rules, on their face, impose burdens and confer benefits without reference to the content of speech.6 Although the provisions interfere with cable oper-6 The must-carry rules also require carriage, under certain limited circumstances, of low-power broadcast stations. 47 U. S. C. § 534(c); see n. 2, supra. Under the Act, a low-power station may become eligible for carriage only if, among other things, the FCC determines that the station's programming "would address local news and informational needs which are not being adequately served by full power television broadcast sta-
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